Scenic Surprises in 15 Miles of Central Oregon Coast Include Watery Explosions

Published 09/14/20 at 10:41 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Yachats, Oregon) – One stretch of central Oregon coast presents an especially varied and rugged face, and even though it’s all part of Highway 101 there’s a sense of it being a road slightly less traveled. A mere 15 or so miles lie between Seal Rock to just south of Yachats, and it’s chock of full of encounters that make memories and sometimes cause the eyes to widen. (Above: Seal Rock)

Sometimes, however, you have to look into little corners.

In Seal Rock, there are heaps of eye-catching sights from the highway, as Seal Rocks themselves pop into view or maybe a random beach access. Sometimes you have to know what to look for, however, and sidetrack the obvious. Seal Rock the state park is fab and fine in a myriad of ways, but it’s those random beach entrances that can provide some true surprises.

Case in point: Curtis St. just north of town. It’s a bit of a hidden beach access so you usually won’t find many people around. During winter, it produces ghost forest stumps every once in awhile (from stands of trees some 4,000 years old).

The viewpoints at the southern edge of the village provide plenty of scenic splendor as well (photo at top). Hotels in Waldport - Where to eat - Waldport, Seal Rock Maps and Virtual Tours

Continue south and the bridge over Waldport's Alsea Bay is the serious striker. If you pullover at the southern end, there are some engaging viewpoints lurking just slightly below the bridge.

Yachats itself presents almost too much to do: the central Oregon coast village is crammed with pocket beaches and food / shopping fun. At the northern side is the great blowhole, found just south of the entrance to Smelt Sands State Recreation Site. Periodically, under the right conditions, this crevice fires up a sizable explosion of water into the air.

For more exceptional viewing fun, find the varied holes of Yachats - its nooks and crannies.

On cloudy or misty days, a few miles down the road, Cape Perpetua looms a bit groggily, draped in fog and barely able to look down on its perpetual companion, the Devil’s Churn. This awe-inspiring chasm in the basalt funnels the waves’ energies into compact, gnarly monsters, which then explode periodically along various points.

On the right days, the sea and wind act a bit more raucous, creating sizable waves that make substantial splashes along the stretch of this jagged crack. People are ooing and ahh-ing like crazy, and you’ll find some are a bit too close and get drenched. Even those quite a ways away from the surf and can still managed to get a little wet by watery detonations.

Periodically, one of these major splashes does some elegant loops and twists in mid-air, like enormous blobs of sea water doing some strange kind of aquatic ballet.

Hotels in Yachats - Where to eat - Yachats Maps and Virtual Tours

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